Description

In terms of archival
value, Pink Floyd: London, 1966-1967 is essential viewing for Floyd collectors and anyone who's curious about the
swinging pop scene of London at the dawn of the psychedelic era. Casual fans be warned: This is not a concert film, per
se, nor will it satisfy anyone looking for a comprehensive history of "The Pink Floyd" (as the group was originally
known) in its earliest incarnation. Rather, Peter Whitehead's film--originally titled Tonite Let's All Make Love in
London (after a line from an Allen Ginsberg poem)--was created as a dreamy, avant-garde portrait of the "Swinging
London" scene, set to the music of Pink Floyd (in this case the improvisational epics "Interstellar Overdrive" and
"Nick's Boogie"), accompanied by performance footage from the legendary UFO Club in 1966, a recording session at
London's Sound Techniques studio on January 11, 1967 (which Whitehead specifically arranged to capture his soundtrack),
and footage from the momentous "14 Hour Technicolor Dream" festival held at Alexandra Palace on April 29th, 1967. White
combined elements of all three events to create his audiovisual collage--a kind of time-capsule mindscape that
successfully conveys the spacey atmosphere of Pink Floyd's early (and instant) popularity.

However fleeting
(he's glimpsed relatively briefly, coaxing otherworldly sounds from his guitar, patched into a Binson Echorec tape echo
device), the presence of Floyd cofounder Syd Barrett will prove fascinating to any devoted fan. The "Crazy Diamond"
appears quite stoned (or at least totally immersed in his music), while Roger Waters provides a driving bass pulse,
looking ever so much like a young, mod intellectual. Rick Wright appears calmly at his keyboard (also using the Binson
Echorec), and Nick Mason drums through his experimental "Boogie," parts of which were transposed into the title track of
A Saucerful of Secrets. The music (far more indicative of Early Floyd than the later studio versions) is also included
on a stand-alone CD, and while none of this material is substantial enough to be truly fulfilling, it remains a
priceless snapshot of the era, with fascinating glimpses of John Lennon attending the "Technicolor" event, unaware that
his future wife, Yoko Ono, was presenting a performance-art installment just a few feet away. Whitehead's archival
interview clips with Mick Jagger, Michael Caine, Julie Christie, and artist David Hockney add another facet of insight
into one of the liveliest periods of popular culture.